


Handle of Things: Prequel

by OiBoiHumerus



Series: OiBoiHumerus's TF2 Zombie Apocalypse AU [1]
Category: Team Fortress 2
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Camping, Gen, M/M, The BLU Spy is mentioned
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-28
Updated: 2020-11-28
Packaged: 2021-03-10 05:27:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,149
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27759124
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OiBoiHumerus/pseuds/OiBoiHumerus
Summary: The mercs were living in very odd times already, but then the zombies came.yeet
Relationships: Engineer/Sniper (Team Fortress 2)
Series: OiBoiHumerus's TF2 Zombie Apocalypse AU [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2030614
Kudos: 8





	Handle of Things: Prequel

**Author's Note:**

> This fic serves as a supplementary prequel part for the work "[Handle of Things](https://archiveofourown.org/works/27307648/chapters/66720019)." It takes place the day before and of the beginning of the apocalypse.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After an infuriating day on the job (that bloody spy, am I right?), Sniper just wants to go to bed and let the stress consume him whole.
> 
> Engineer isn't having any of that and decides to take him camping, to get Sniper's mind off of work.

Ever since the Robot Wars had ended, the RED and BLU teams were left to their own devices. However, under the guidance of Miss Pauling, they decided to start some secret sport and a market surrounding it. This meant that they would battle as they did, but the results weren't as dire. Gravel was not at stake. It was just them fighting for fun, and hidden clubs betting on the results. Respawn allowed that.

Some of the mercenaries disagreed, but begrudgingly obliged, deciding that they could use the money. Sniper was one of those mercenaries.

Today seemed to be like any other battle. The task: prevent BLU from taking their control points. It seemed relatively easy, but Sniper did not know that the BLU Spy would be out to give him a hard time. It was usual for other matches, like taking the intelligence, but it was very unusual for Control Point.

Nonetheless, Sniper was determined to contribute to his team.

That didn't happen.

There was so much action that day that Sniper made no headshots. And it was the first time that it had happened. For one, the REDs were already killing everyone, stripping Sniper of the need to actually participate. There was so much action in the frontlines that Sniper became overwhelmed, thus being unable to aim.

What really did him in, however, was the BLU Spy. No matter where he moved, the BLU knew where he was, and immediately stabbed him every time. Sure, Sniper put up a fight, but the BLU was just too good. It didn't help that the animal organs that Medic gave him sometimes drove his senses insane. He could just  _ feel _ that things were different and that alone was very distracting from time to time. So sometimes Sniper just went into fights without a strategy, hopelessly swinging his kukri around in hopes of killing some enemy,  _ any enemy _ , which only led to his demise. Several times.

Engie would've known. He set up his engineer nest somewhere in between the first and second points, and spent the entire match maintaining his contraptions and moving his sentry to wherever it was needed. He had seen Sniper walk past him or use the teleporter sixteen times that day, meaning that Sniper had gone through respawn that many times as well.

The match ended in a victory. In fact, BLU was unable to capture a single control point for the entire match.

Sniper, however, took it like a very hard loss. He entered the RED base  _ fuming _ . No talking to his coworkers, no lingering in the locker rooms to listen to battle stories, not even a smile. Instead, Sniper skipped dinner and headed straight to the showers to begin his bedtime routine.

Engie was a little hurt by this, as Sniper would usually be most likely to talk to him, but he was more confused than anything. They'd won, hadn't they? It was a victory, so why was Sniper so upset?

By the time Engie had gone to the showers, Sniper had finished brushing his teeth and was blankly staring into one of the mirrors. His hair was wet, and he was wearing his cammy jammies and a clean undershirt. Sniper could have been crying at some point, as he now looked tired and detached. He rested his elbows on the counter and played with his fingers as if trying to tie them into knots.

Engie noticed the scars that ran from above Sniper's elbows up into his armpits. He hadn't even seen them before. But he chose to ignore this and instead approached Sniper slowly and gently.

"Sniper, are you alright there?"

Sniper only shook his head, looking away from Engie.

"You missed out on dinner. Scout went into town and ordered takeout from Trevor's."

"It's alright," Sniper mumbled, his voice hoarse and barely audible.

"Sniper... You don't look okay. What's the matter?"

Sniper mumbled again, but this time Engie couldn't understand what he was saying. He took it as not wanting to talk about it and decided he would try and distract Sniper instead.

"How about we go camping? We can be outside and you can get your mind off of--"

"Can't drive. Not now."

"We could go behind the base. We can set up camp in the field near the parking lot, and then we can go back inside once it gets late."

Sniper hummed in agreement.

When the sun was just about to set, Sniper followed Engie outside with some chairs. Engie brought a small cooler with leftover takeout and some drinks, in addition to his guitar, in its case slung over his shoulder. Together, they walked over to the edge of the parking lot, then set down their supplies.

"I'm gonna go back to the garage to get firewood. You can set up the chairs and collect some sticks for the fire if you want."

Sniper watched Engie leave for a moment before setting up the chairs. He then noticed the little stone circle in the ground, the earth charred from campfires past. He stared at the circle until Engie came back.

"I got firewood."

"Sticks... I'll be back."

"Don't go far."

"Okay."

Sniper grabbed some fallen sticks and twigs, then returned to find Engie using his robotic hand as a drill to cut the wood into smaller pieces. It made a jarring sound that grinded his ear drums. Dropping the twigs next to the fire pit, Sniper plugged his ears and sat down in one of the chairs.

Engie soon realized this and decided that he had cut up enough wood. Deeming it safe, Sniper unplugged his ears, now able to take in his surroundings. He felt the chill coming in as the sun started to set. Engie made a cabin-style campfire, with the bigger pieces of wood for the walls and the sticks filled nicely inside. He took out a match box, grabbed a single match, lit it, then put the match in the fire. It caught quickly, and soon there was a bit of warmth that the sun was no longer providing.

Engie sat down in the other chair, passing Sniper some takeout. It was just some pasta with sauce, but Sniper was okay with that. He didn't feel like eating anything excessive.

Engie took out his guitar and started tuning it. It was rather old, but it still sounded like it was in good condition.

"I'm not a good sniper, am I?"

Engie stopped tuning and looked up at Sniper, who mindlessly continued eating pasta.

"What?" Engie was almost shocked. "What's making you say that?"

"I didn't make a single headshot today. Couldn't even bring myself to try. I just... sat there, tried to aim, and before I could even pull the trigger, my target had been killed by someone else."

"That happens. Tomorrow is supposed to be an Intelligence match. You're good at those, right?"

"I dunno, Truckie. I didn't really want to come back to Mann Co, but I knew I was going to have a hard time finding work elsewhere. I'm getting tired of this, though."

"Hey, we won, didn't we? And you gave our Spy a chance to notice that darned BLU snake every time he killed you."

"The BLU Spy can marinate in Jarate for all I care."

"Slim..."

"He's been doing this for a while now.  _ I'm _ his primary target. I don't even know why or for how long he's been doing it, but he seems to make me top priority."

"Maybe he likes you."

"Yeah, well I don't like that. He should say it outright if he does. And I reckon he doesn't like me, he's got his own Sniper back at BLU. He's getting annoying."

Engie sighed. "You really don't want to go to work tomorrow?"

"No."

"Well... there isn't much I can do about that, but at least you'll only have to go to work tomorrow and then we'll be on break, okay?"

Sniper hummed in agreement, then went back to his pasta.

Engie had never seen Sniper like this before. Tired, frustrated, upset. He'd known Sniper for six years now, but this was unfamiliar. Sniper was usually okay about work. And sure, the RED team had their handful of victories and failures over the years, but this was different. Sniper felt that he did not deserve to celebrate today's victory, and it showed.

"Even if you didn't do good today, you've still done really well more often than not. Remember the Bread Monster?"

"Not really."

"I remember. You saved Scout despite all the noise going on."

"In that moment, I wasn't thinking about anything else. I was just focused on getting Scout out of there. I think I managed okay, though. Just not today."

"You were passed out in the hallway after cleanup."

"...Oh."

"And today, BLU Spy decides to ruin your day, so you skip dinner and decide to try tearing your fingers out instead?"

"I wasn't... Truckie..."

"You're doing it right now."

Sniper looked down at his fingers, slightly intertwined. "Hm."

"Doesn't that hurt?"

"Nah."

"That's kinda interesting."

"Could we talk about something else now?"

"Yeah, we could... Are you cold?"

Sniper glanced at Engie. "Nah."

"You're shivering. You can head back inside if you want to."

"...Alright." Sniper stood up. "I'll be back."

"Alright."

Sniper headed to the garage and briefly scoured through the camper. He grabbed a hooded sweatshirt from one of the drawers in his camper and slipped it on. Then he grabbed some socks and more comfy shoes and put them on. He took his camera with him to take a picture of the campfire and possibly of some nice views from the RED base.

When he came back to the campfire, Engie was playing some music on his guitar. Slowly and gently, the song progressed. Sniper sat down in one of the chairs and listened. Engie glanced at Sniper after a while and noticed that his taller companion had finally calmed down, though still very exhausted. Sniper took out his camera and took a picture of the campfire, then of one of the massive rocks out in the distance where the parking lot ended.

"Can I take a picture of you playing?" Sniper asked.

"Sure, I don't mind."

Engie continued playing his guitar, while Sniper took a picture of him, being sure to get the campfire in the shot as well.

"Thanks."

"No problem."

Sniper put his camera away while yawning silently.

"Did you sleep last night?"

"I tried. I lay in bed and then my brain will stop thinking enough for me to fall asleep if I'm lucky. That's most likely why I didn't do well today. I don't think it stopped the BLU Spy from attacking me endlessly though."

"Well, nobody noticed, so you should be alright. Why don't you go to bed early so that you do better tomorrow?"

"Okay." Sniper got up and picked up his chair. "I'm going inside now. Do you need anything?"

"You could get the chairs, and then I'll handle everything else."

"Okay."

Engie got up from the chair, using the rocks to diminish the fire that was now at embers, and then put his guitar back in its case, slung the case over his shoulder, and picked up his toolbox. Sniper folded up the other chair and picked it up as well. Together, they headed back into the garage.

Sniper's camper van was parked there, sitting as Sniper had parked it. Sniper put the chairs where he found them (behind one of the shelves), and started making his way to the camper. He stopped before arriving at the door.

"Hey, Truckie?"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks for hanging out."

"Aw, it was nothing. Just bein' a friend, that's all. Now go get some rest. Tomorrow's gonna be a new day."

"Alright. Good night, Truckie."

"Good night, Sniper."

Sniper punched in the passcode to unlock his camper, then stepped inside. The mood of the whole place was quiet now. Sleep seemed inviting. His brain was screaming at him for sleep.

He put the camera on the mini-table: he could get the reels printed tomorrow. He decided that he'd get them printed in doubles, so he could give some of them to Engie.

Carelessly, Sniper kicked off his shoes near the doorway. He peeled off his socks, leaving them inside-out on the floor, and then took off his hoodie and left it on the sofa. Then he made his way to his bed, climbing onto the mattress and burrowing under the sheets and blankets.

This was bliss for him. He wasn't riddled with anxiety or kept awake with insomnia. He could still hear the campfire crackling and Engie's guitar playing. For once, he was calm. For once, he wasn't nearly pulling his hair out from frustration of not being able to fall asleep immediately.

For once, he instantly sank into the mattress and passed out.


End file.
